IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Elizabethan Way, ROCHDALE, OL16 4LG

A Browett, Lindley inverted vertical compound (enclosed) engine driving a dynamo. This is in the room next door to the huge twin tandem compound mill engine. It is a now unique survivor of a "pilot engine" as it would have been used to light the mill when the main engine was stopped. Look out for this in the textile mill engine gallery.

Mather & Platt horizontal duplex non-rotative steam fire pump. A once common make and type. Very important for insurance purposes (like getting a reasonably priced policy) in the inflammable environment of a cotton mill. This is now workable - as demonstrated by the good jet into the plastic tub. Look out for this in the textile mill engine gallery.

This is the newly erected engine from Barker's Tannery, Otley. It can be seen in situ here - Image It was only returned to steam here on 7-2-10 but is a smooth runner. (Chris Allen). Has typical Corliss valves as seen on here Image

A static engine outside the main museum, not the best colour scheme! It's a single cylinder engine with Meyer expansion slide valve that was built at an unknown date by The Railway & General Engineering Company, Nottingham and used at the works of Potclays Ltd, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent. The cylinder is c16" x 36" and the flywheel is 10' 6" diameter. It was removed in 1983 and displayed for many years in Ellesmere Port. See - Image Image

The former boiler/engine house for the Ring mill, demolished in the 1980s. Image] Image]

The biggest workable mill engine in the UK seen in motion. The flywheel weighs 80 tons. The engine is a twin tandem compound and on the right is one of the high pressure cylinders with Craig's trip gear on the steam valves under the control of the Whitehead governor. Prominent on the left is one of the piston valve low pressure cylinders and on the floor alongside are the Lumb's recorder and the electric overspeed governor.

The largest workable mill engine in the UK is this twin tandem compound of about 2500 horsepower. The flywheel ran at 58 rpm in use and was doing about 52 rpm when I took this. The flywheel is blurred in this shot as it was running. The crosshead appears stationary as the shot was timed close to back dead centre. The little brass wheel is the indicator drive for taking indicator diagrams to calculate the engine's horsepower.

The biggest workable mill engine in the UK. The flywheel weighs 80 tons. The engine is a twin tandem compound and this is a view of part of a high pressure cylinder with Craig's trip gear on the steam valves under the control of the Whitehead governor. The steam valve is at the top of the cylinder and the exhaust valve at the bottom with a bell crank transmitting the motion from one eccentric to both exhaust valves. The vertical rod with a turbuckle is from the governor and is adjusting the cut-off. The low pressure cylinder is on the right. The engine was built in 1892 as a four cylinder triple expansion by J & W McNaught then rebuilt in 1921 by Clayton, Goodfellow as a twin tandem compound with Craig's cut-off gear.

This is the gauge board on the 2500 horsepower horizontal twin tandem compound engine that is the largest workable textile mill engine in the world. The centre top gauge is the pressure in the steam main and therefore, more or less, the pressure in the boiler. The two large flanking gauges measure the condenser vacuum on each side of the engine as each side has its own condensing plant. The two smaller gauges at the bottom are combination pressure/vacuum gauges and measure the pressure in the transfer pipes between high and low-pressure cylinders on each side of the engine. The brass plaque shows that the gauges were repaired by the Budenberg Gauge Co Ltd of Manchester. This firm has been in business for 170 years and is still manufacturing pressure gauges. Some needs have not gone away.

A close up of the 2500 horsepower horizontal twin tandem compound steam engine. This is one side's valve gear drive. Two large gears, one geared to the crankshft are in the blued steel casing in the right background with bass beading on its left hand edge. The second of these gears carries a bevel gear and a double webbed crank as seen here. The bevel drives a longitudinal shaft operating the high pressure cylinder Corliss valve gear and, on this side only, the governor. The crank operates the low pressure cylinder piston valve. The piston valve is also given a twist motion but that mechanism is not seen here.